The locations of the US and UK Virgin IslandsRigobert Bonne: Map of the Virgin Islands, 1780
Christopher Columbus named the islands afterSaint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins (Spanish:Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes), shortened to the Virgins (las Vírgenes). The official name of the British territory is the Virgin Islands, and the official name of the U.S. territory is the Virgin Islands of the United States. In practice, the two island groups are almost universally referred to as theBritish Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by theArawak andCarib, many of whom are thought to have perished during the colonial period due toenslavement, foreign disease, and war brought about by European colonists.[1]
European colonists later settled here and establishedsugar plantations and at least onetobacco plantation, and boughtslaves fromAfrica. The descendants of the enslaved people remain the bulk of the population, sharing a common African-Caribbean heritage with the rest of theEnglish-speaking Caribbean.
Like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands that belonged toSpain were ceded to the United States in 1898. The United States took possession of the islands after the signing of the armistice that put an end to military operations in theSpanish–American War.
A 1916treaty between the United States and Denmark (not ratified by the United States until 1917) resulted in Denmark selling theDanish Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million in gold.
The Virgin Islands have been under the sovereignty of several nations and groups throughout history. Below is a table which represents the affiliation of the various islands:
The total population of the Virgin Islands is 147,778: 104,901 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 31,758 in the British, and 11,119 in the Spanish. Roughly three-quarters of islanders areblack in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, while the majority of inhabitants inCulebra andVieques arePuerto Rican of European descent, with a significantAfro-Puerto Rican community. The main languages areEnglish andVirgin Islands Creole in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, andSpanish in the Puerto Rican territory. St. Thomas is the most populous island, with St. Croix close behind (51,634 and 50,601, respectively).
Motor vehicles aredriven on the left-hand side of the road in both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although the steering wheels on most cars are located on the left side (as is the norm for drive-on-the-right localities). In the Spanish Virgin Islands, vehicles are driven on the right-hand side of the road.
Colin Thomas, J.; Allard, William Albert; Wolinsky, Cary (February 1981). "Paradise Comes of Age: The U.S. Virgin Islands".National Geographic. Vol. 159, no. 2. pp. 225–243.
†Physiographically, thesecontinental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.
#Bermuda is an isolatedNorth Atlanticoceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with theNorthern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
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